If you gave yourself the title of health guru in your social group, it’s time to test your knowledge. Here are 10 things even co-op managers don’t know about organic food.
People are still predominantly buying non-organic
Even with the frowns you get for grabbing the significantly cheaper, but non-organic eggs, the majority of the country ignores the guilt. While sales in organic foods have grown from $1 billion in 1990 to $29 billion in 2011, that number only represents 4.2 percent of all food sales in the U.S.
Pregnant women and new moms should eat organic
Studies have found that fetuses and young children can be damaged by exposure to even mild levels of pesticides. Maybe add a gift certificate to your local co-op to your baby registry.
With a little less meat, we could all eat organic
The complaint that farmers cannot produce enough organic food for this country to sustain itself at the rate we eat is a valid one. But that’s because we eat far more meat than we have to—and that’s the item that’s particularly hard to produce organically and in mass. If people shifted their diets to more vegetarian based, farmers could produce enough organic food for everyone.
Most organic foods are owned by predominantly non-organic brands
Bear Naked, Kashi, and Morningstar Farms are all owned by Kellogg. Naked Juice is owned by Pepsi. Odwalla by Coa Cola; LaraBar and Cascadian Farm by General Mills. And recently Campbell Soup bought Bolthouse Farms.
Organic doesn’t mean local
Much of your organic food is still traveling all the way from China. So while you’re supporting the extinction of pesticide use in China by buying those items, you’re still supporting the environmentally damaging fuel and processes required to bring that food to you. Buy local when you can.
Organic meat doesn’t always come from happy cows
Don’t get too hung up on the idea of a happy cow ranging in an open field all because your steak is organic. The only requirement for labeling an animal product organic is that the animal was given no antibiotics or growth hormones. But that cow could very well have been eating organic corn in a tiny stall.
Organic doesn’t mean anything when it comes to seafood
Any seafood company that’s slapping the word “organic” on its items is looking for an excuse to raise the price. There are zero federal regulations that qualify seafood as organic.
Drink whatever milk you want
Research has finally concluded that milk from hormone-fed cows is safe for children and contains no substantial difference in estrogen levels compared to organic milk. They do recommend drinking skim milk (organic or not) since higher-fat milk has higher estrogen levels.
Organic foods don’t have more nutrients
Research has found that eating organic doesn’t come with any health benefits; it simply reduces the health risks associated with the pesticide residue and antibiotic resistance in “conventional” food.
Rinsing only gets half the job done
Just as a preface: do rinse all produce. But know that pesticides seep into produce so rinsing non-organic foods only removes surface pesticides. Rinsing does, however, remove food-borne-illness pathogens, so it’s worth it.